Destination Unknown

Huh?,where am I"

002 wondered, rising from the ground, he found himself in a forest area, surrounded by trees and flourishing plant life and sounds of flowing streams, a stark contrast to the Locke he had come to know.

"Am I still in the illusion or was I sent off world?"

002 contemplated.

"SAI, are you active?"

002 inquired but received no response, he had to figure out his situation by himself, even after he had gotten an understanding of his sorroundings, there was still no way to tell if he was still on Locke, his map depicted no greenery on the whole expanse of Locke, atleast not one this lush.

002 thought for a moment then started to emanate his neural force that by now had recovered to the 4th lvl due to the accelerated time in Weiss' domain, yet he found no traces that indicated he was in an illusion, he finally decides to rely on a technique that although not accurate, would still give him a little Insight on how to proceed further, despite being a crude and unpopular technique, it was still useful to some extent.

002 reluctantly kneels down to grab a sample of dirt, with an unwavering expression he tastes it, with this he was able to identify the components of the sample thanks to his lvl 4 physical type abilities, and in that way he was sure of one thing, the sample he just ... Inspected had the same chemical components as the dust that came along with the strong winds of Locke's vast expanse of barren land.

"I am still on Locke"

002 remarks, looking down at his map in an effort to discern his current location, finally he finds a patch of land that was not illustrated in detail on the map,

"I must be here"

002 stealthy navigates the forest to find a hideout fearing his location may be known by hostiles, he was still rather cautious of the Locken warlocks he had managed to avoid until now . Finding a vacant cave, he meticulously camouflaged himself blending into his sorroundings, he was so proficient that even the keen animals of the forest wouldn't be able sense his presence, but strangely he didn't have to worry about wild animals interfering with him, since 002 arrived at his current location he had only now realised that there seem to be no signs of life, or rather no signs of multicellular lifeforms apart from trees, there were running streams and rock, there were even wierd organisms that were possibly Locken trees, yet there were no other kinds of creatures, not even Locken, this was quite strange.

002 set's up his maps transmitors and starts to send radio signals to his TMV(Terrain Maneuvering Veichle), which he had left behind at the start of his journey, by finding his TMV he the map's software would be able to deduce his current position, respective to the TMV, all he had to do now was to sit tight, SAI was still unresponsive and he couldn't roam around in hostile territory without a clear destination.

Although radio waves were as fast as the speed of light, the system still needed a whole day to pinpoint his precise location respective to the TMV, night came yet 002 was still awake, he didn't need sleep or food for the meantime, so he took the chance to meditate and heal his neural cortex, in order to be able to use more of his neural force.

002 sat eyes closed yet incredibly aware of his ambiance, he made close to no sound, his heart still beat, yet only he could hear it, while he carefully connected the disconnected paths and links, his thoughts wondered of for a while, his began to see visions of the moment after he had vanished from the battle at Kraken(Yotrhiem), he found himself on a crystal floor when he woke up, the crystal was so clear you could mistaken it's inner part for an alternate dimension. He lifted his head to see before him stood a tall and stern looking oldman, he wore a black military uniform that contrasted with his white hair.

"Come with me"

The old man said in a somewhat soothing tone, turning his back and gesturing with his hand for David to follow him, David confused of his current predicament obediently followed, occasionally turning back to inspect his sorroundings, although he'd no recollection of ever being to this place, he still felt it was very familiar, he seemed to recognise every corridor they passed despite their allmost identical appearance , after a while of silently following the old man, he finally mustered some courage and questioned the oldman who was surprisingly taller than him,

"If I may senior, where are we"?

He timidly inquired, trying to be as polite as possible. They walk in silent for a moment more, and the old man finally responds,

"This is Crystal Palace, young Vanguard. "

David was shocked and flattered at the same time, trying very hard no to stutter, he inquires for a clarification,

"The.. Transendental Emperor's residence.. Crystal Palace?"

"I see you are informed".

The oldman remarked without giving a clear answer, but David understood, he started to wonder what this comfort oldman's identify was, his was still overthinking when he suddenly heard

"We are here, young Vanguard"

David lifts his head to find he was now standing before a very grand door, it was Crystal just like the rest of the palace, yet despite it grandeur, it was plain, with know decorations or carving, it lacked even a door nob.

*How nostalgic

He instantly thought, despite knowing very well he had never step foot there before,his own thoughts confused him, but what was even more confusing the smile the oldman gave him before leaving.

"Wait why.... ?"

Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly feels a slight rumble, then suddenly the grand door opens ajar,

"YOU MAY COME IN"

A loud and oppressive voice exited from the room, making him break into a cold sweat.

"Here! this is where I sense it coming from"

"Let's go and check"

002 opens his eyes as he hears two individuals conversing at the mouth of the cave, he becomes alert, it was already daytime yet the pinpointing process had only progressed by around a quarter.

As he attentively waits still hidden, for the intruders to enter, two beautiful Locken enter the cave, one appeared to be female and the latter a male, according to his experience, their appearance was a stark contrast to their dishevelled counter parts in the barren wilderness of Locke, when they entered, the female with a green hue for skin complexion, directly comes towards 002,it seemed as if he was discovered.

"Did she discover me?"